


Carrots and Peas

by GalaxyCuup



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Angst kinda?, Comfort, Dysphoria, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Pre-Established Friendship, They're both new to the whole friendship thing, Trans, ZADF, based on a comic, trans dib
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:29:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22016401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyCuup/pseuds/GalaxyCuup
Summary: Zim pays a visit to Dib, only to find him in shambles about something- carrots and peas being mixed up?No, that wasn't it.Dib had the wrong body?Apparently that was wrong too.Or maybe, only slightly wrong.
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 221





	Carrots and Peas

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!! I've been wanting to write a one shot based on my trans Dib comic I did earlier this month, and I finally got around to it!  
> (comic here: https://galaxycuup.tumblr.com/post/189591102915/more-under-the-cutmore-was-feelin-real)
> 
> Chapter 3 of Breaking Routine will be out pretty soon (I've only got a little bit more to write and then I'll be editing!), so keep an eye out for that! This is just some side content until I have more time/motivation to work on ch. 3!
> 
> //P.S. lofi music is really great to read this fic to :>

_ I hate that mirror. _

Dib Membrane, 16, stood tensely in front of his full body mirror.

He had never put much thought into making himself look nice, but he had put a lot of thought into how he naturally looked. Mildly curvy hips, a medium sized chest, and a face much too round for his liking.

_ I’m gonna smash that mirror into tiny shards. _

Dib glared back at his reflection with disgust, fists shaking at his sides and tears in his eyes. He let out a deep sigh and, instead of smashing the mirror like he’d wanted to, he turned his back to it and crawled into bed after taking his glasses off.

“You win for now, mirror.” he muttered, voice cracking slightly as he brought his knees to his chest. He folded his arms over his knees and rested his chin on them, trying to think of anything but his dysphoria.

He thought of Zim for a moment, pondering what the little alien could be up to. Probably something much more interesting than Dib was and-

_ You will always be a girl. _

Dib winced as his thoughts of Zim were derailed. He pressed his thighs tighter against his chest.

_ You’ll never pass and the binder makes you look dumb. _

Feeling his doubts and insecurities begin to take over, he burst into tears. It was just too much to hold it in like this; was there really any hurt in crying when he was all alone, anyways? Dib let out broken sobs into his arms, the flood gates opening and refusing to stop even when he believed he might have calmed down.

Everytime the thoughts subsided, a new wave came crashing down on him with the force of a tsunami. He thought this had to feel similar to physically drowning, because he was beginning to have a hard time breathing through the hiccups and shaky breaths.

“Dib?” a muffled voice called.

That voice was familiar, and for once not the one in his head.

He pulled his head up from his arms and looked towards his right at the window. Dib squinted blindly, directly at the green figure hovering behind the glass, before recognizing it as his alien friend.

“Zim?!” He yelped, then quickly turned away from the window and rubbed urgently at his puffy eyes. God, he probably looked like a wreck.

“What’s wrong?” Zim called through the glass, a concerned look on his face. “Let Zim in!” he hung there impatiently, PAK legs keeping him stable. Dib finished rubbing at his eyes and hurriedly combed his fingers through his knotted hair.

“Dib’s not home right now!” he called back.

Zim gawked at Dib through the window, jaw ajar. “You’re  _ right _ there!”

When Dib made no efforts to turn back around and unlatch the window, Zim sighed in defeat. He waited just a moment longer in hopes of some movement from Dib, but there was nothing. One PAK leg unlatched from the side of the house and Zim began to use the sharp tip to slice a hole in the glass that was big enough for him to fit through. It made a horrible shrieking noise that finally caused Dib to whip around.

“Hey!” Dib wanted to complain, but was too tired to actually do anything about it. Part of him had a hard time being angry with Zim for creating a gaping hole in his window because it meant that he wasn’t alone anymore, but the other part of him didn’t want to be seen like this. “You owe me a new window.” He grunted, returning back to his original state of hiding behind his arms.

Zim tossed the glass to the lawn and swung himself through the hole with ease, PAK legs sliding back into their home with a satisfying  _ click  _ sound. He sat on his knees beside Dib, giving him a concerned and frustrated look. “Tell Zim what’s wrong.”

No use. Dib stubbornly turned away from Zim, reminded of why he’d been crying in the first place.

Zim stared at the back of Dib’s head for a moment before he grimaced at what he was about to do.

Dib jolted upwards when he felt something gently press into his shoulder blades. He felt synthetic hair brushing his ear, and arms wrapped comfortably around his stomach. Frozen still, the only movement Dib felt was a low cat-like purr coming from Zim and rumbling through his body. It soothed him for a few seconds before he registered the affection and erupted into tears once again.

He choked on his own saliva which earned a bit of disgust from Zim, although he didn’t pull away (which Dib was very thankful for). The physical contact with another person, his best friend no less, was more than enough to send him over the edge again, but for different reasons this time. Now, he felt safe knowing that Zim had his back, and would be there for him no matter if he couldn’t get the words out or not.

Dib finally turned to face Zim, who looked unsure and scared that he may have hurt Dib somehow. The teen leaned forwards and swung his arms around Zim’s, crying grossly into his shoulder. 

The alien’s skin sizzled beneath the fabric at the salty tears, but he refused to pull away- this wasn’t that bad.

“Um.” Zim stared awkwardly at a random spot in the deep blue ceiling, mind racing fast. “It’s okay.”

The words were foreign to both of the boys, Zim hesitant even saying it, and Dib feeling weirded out (albeit comforted) hearing it. Dib's ragged breathing slowed to a normal pace as Zim rubbed random patterns into his back. He dragged his claws ever so gently against the blue fabric of Dib’s shirt, searching for more words to say.

“Zim is here.”

Dib slowly closed his burning eyes, cheek resting on Zim’s shoulder while he tried to ground himself and relax.

Long alien claws tangled in Dib’s thick hair; it was something he’d seen in the movies, and seemed to have the same soothing effects that Irken’s felt when their antennae were pet.

“Dib-friend, will you tell me what happened? Whoever did this has a very doomed future.” Threatening violence was just Zim’s natural way of comfort. It at least earned the crack of a smile from Dib.

“Umm…” slowly, Dib leaned back and moved his hands from Zim’s back to his hands. Their fingers intertwined, Dib rubbing circles into the side of Zim’s thumb.

A thoughtful look spread across Dib’s face as he began to calm down and think of ways to describe the situation to his friend. “You know how sometimes labels for carrot cans end up on the cans of peas?”

Zim looked up with a puzzled expression.

“I’m like that.”

“You’re leaking because of  _ carrots _ and  _ peas? _ ” Zim looked terribly lost.

“I- what?” Dib gave a dumbfounded look.  _ Bad metaphor? _ “No, Zim. What I mean is, I’m in the wrong body.”

Zim gaped up at Dib, mouth hanging open. He suddenly reached out and pressed his gloved hands to Dib’s cheeks, squishing his face. “Then we gotta get your old body back!” he urged.

“ZIM!” Dib grasped Zim’s wrists and yanked them away from his face, leaning in. “ _ Listen to me. _ Do you remember sex ED?”

Zim’s hands fell limp in Dib’s rough grasp. “Eh? Yes…?”

Dib’s honey colored eyes stared back into Zim’s purple contacts. “I have a girl body but I feel like a boy.” He released Zim’s wrists.

Finally, something clicked within Zim’s brain, and his eyes went wide. He looked away and took a moment to process, not taking long to come up with a response.

“Zim thinks you look like a human boy.” He waved his hand with a shrug.

Dib felt his heart clench, and emotions stir throughout his entire body. His lower lip trembled, and God did he try to keep his emotions in check now that he'd finally calmed down, but now his mood was that of happiness and love.

He wanted to say thank you, to say it 20 times, but instead all he could will himself to do was straddle Zim and wrap his arms snuggly around Zim's lower back while the tears rolled down his cheeks for the third time.

  
  


"Was that bad?" Zim gasped, eyes wide with shock. He felt his cheeks heat slightly, an unfamiliar anxiousness building in his gut. Both of them were so new to this 'friendship' thing.

"No!" Dib smiled through his tears, but it looked more like a grimace "No, that was really nice of you, Zim."

Zim smiled back at that, then gently nudged Dib away from his shoulder. They shared a fond look for a moment before Zim let his eyes slip shut as he carefully bumped their foreheads together like a little cat. The two remained like that until Zim noticed Dib dozing off.

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't much and I only edited it like once (so sorry for any mistakes), but I had a good time writing it! I hope that you enjoyed reading!
> 
> Comments are appreciated <333


End file.
